Explosive toy



June 20, 1933. K. KOHN 1,914,607

EXPLOSIVE TOY Filed April 29, 1931 Patented June 20, 1933 air isle? KOBY lio HN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO CHATHAM SPECIALTY CORPORATION, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A COP PORATION OF' NEW YORK ExPLosIvn roY Application filed A pri1 29, 1931; Serial No. 533,811.

This invention relates to pyrotechnic devices and particularly to explosive toys, such as salutes and torpedoes.

' It is a general object of the present 1nvention to provide a novel and improved type of explosive toy.

More particularly it 311 ob ect of the invention to provide a caslng for an explosive toy formed from a single piece of tenacious bituminous composition which completely envelops andforms a gas-tight casing for the exploslve compos1tion.' f I An important feature of the lnventl on resides in the formation of the explosive container for a toy pyrotechnic by molding a cup of tenacious material and, after fillin the explosive and any other desired components, closing this cup without the use of any additional parts, 7

Another important feature of thGlIlVGl'ltion resides inthe formation of a toy torpedo in which the outer casing is a unltary structure of molded bituminous material ,1 having great tenacity and in which 'a single striker is secured to an inner wall of the casi cured to the wall ofthe cavity to separate therefrom when the torpedo 1s lmpacted.

Another feature of the invention resides in themethod of forming, assembl1ng,,and

closing the torpedo casing. and detonating n means.

Other and further-features and objects of he invention will be more apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the accompanying drawing and following specification wherein are disclosed several exemplary embodiments of the invention with the understanding, however, that such chan es may be made therein asfall within the scope o fthe appended claims without departing from'the spirit ofthe invention.

In said drawing:

closing and sealing the cup;

Figure l is a' central sectional view taken through one form of torpedo constructed according to the present inventlon Figure 2 is a similar view after the cup is closed and thetorpedo completed;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 1 of a modified form of the invention;

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 showing a step in the processof vclosing the Figure'5 is a View similar to Figure 2 showing the second form of the invention in its completed state;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of another form of cup or casing prior to closing; and

Figure 7 is a'central section through a salute formed according to the present invention.

In the manufacture of such explosive toys as torpedoes, salutes, and the like, it has heretofore been customary to form the casing or gas-tight container, for the exprior to plosive and other essential elements of sev- H eral parts of the same or different materials. For instance, in torpedoes there maybe an inner paper casing formed of two or more parts with an outer covering of paper or a plastic composition, such as wood pulp or flour and an adhesive. Salutes may be formed of a paper tube plugged at the ends with plugs of clay plaster of Paris, glue and paper, glue and sawdust, or various other constructions. It has heretofore been proposed by the present inventor to form the casing of frangible bituminous compositions and to enclose. this in a gas-tightfflexible covering, but in every case more than one piece has been used in the construction.

In'accordance with the present invention, a complew gas-tight casing is made from one single piece of bituminous material which, instead of being brittle orfrangible as in prior constructions, is tenacious and resists breaking or cracking under the shock of such lmpacts as are necessary for the explosion of a torpedo or which 'may result from the throwing of a salute after .it is lighted.

By having the outer casing of one single piece, all seams are eliminated, and there is no chance for leakage or easy separation of parts, resulting in. misfires or weak explosionsp F urthermore, the ease of manufacture is much greater and the chances of spoiled articles reduced to a minimum.

' The invention is shown in connection with the safety form of toy torpedo wherein no V the invention, it will be seen that the casing .sufliciently secure to insure againstseparais'composed'of a-single piece 10 of bituminous plastic material, such as fully disclosed in my copending application Serial No.

498,503, filed November 26, 1930, for plastic composition. For convenience in manufacture, this is first formed by a simple molding operation to the shape illustrated in Figure 1, inwhich there is a semi-spherical portion ll having walls'of substantially un form thickness so as to form the semi-spher cal inner cavity '12, and extending from th s bottom portion is the substantially cylindr cal portion-13, slightly less in external d ameter than the diameter of the semi-spherical portion, producing the reduced or converging section 14 at the Junction. The walls of the portion 13 are thmner than thoseof the semi-spherical portion as shown.

The detonating. means, striker, or s im1lar device for exploding the. composition 18 preferably in the form of a sphere 15 wh ch maybe molded from the same .COHIPOSIJBIOD asthe cup or made from any suitable material. In the form shown, it is provided with a weight 16 to increase its momentum when it functions to detonate the explosive. It will be appreciated that the welght need not be of the spherical form shown but can 7 be of any shape or can beincorporated as fine particles, such as filings, and dissemi nated throughoutvthe mass of the plast c composition from which the striker 1s formed.

The striker is placed within the cup and caused to adhere to the wall of the cavity therein in any suitable manner so that it is tion in the ordinary processes of manufacture and shipping of the device and yet so that it will break loose when the torpedo is impacted by. throwing it against a hard surface. 1

For causing the striker to adhere'to the cup, resort maybe had to several expedients. For example, a portion of the surface of the striker may be heated before it is dropped cup, some means may be resorted to for extending the surface thereof, such as by forming the annular groove 19 therein into which the quick setting adhesive runs. This adhesive material should be of such characteristics that it fractures sharply on sudden impact, and the added'weight imparted to the ball assists in providing the momentum for this fracturing. The ball may be arranged substantially'tangent to the inner surface of the cup as shown in Figure 1, or the portion of the cup on whichit rests may be elevated in the form of a short pedestal so that if the ball leaves in a diretcion at right angles to the base on which it rests,

there will be an opportunity foran impact rather than a mere. rolling contact with the cavity wall.

After the ball. is in position, granular abrasive material which has been previously heated is introduced into the cup so that it softens the surface of both the striker and the cup cavity wall and adheres thereto, after which the excess material is poured out, leaving a coating 20 of granular material on the interior of the cup as high as the line 21 and a similar coating 22 on the surface of the ball or striker or the mastic covering thereon. Itmay be found that the ball can be adequately securedto the cup merely by the adhesion produced by the heat of the abrasive and by the interlocking of the abrasive particles near the junction of the ball and the cup wall.

'Whenthe article is completed to the extent illustrated in Figure 1, it is closed by a suitable'manipulation of-the cylindrical wall 13, preferablyby the use of heated rollers as more fully explained in connection with the modification illustrated in Figures 8, 4c,

and 5, so t-hat, without the addition of any material or parts, the casing is brought to the configuration illustrated in Figure 2 and is substantially spherical on the exterior and has a substantially spherical cavity 23 therein. As shown in Figure 2, the portion '24 is homogeneous and thicker than the wall 11 oft-he initially formed portion of the cup. This is to produce suflicient strength where the cup has been formed over and not molded under high pressure as was the initial portion of the cup. This insures substapltially uniform strength forthe casing wa A torpedo, constructed according to this arrangement has but two parts, and they are secured together. -Thisinsures simplified manufacture andgreat safety in manufacture and in transit. By having both the cavity and the striker of substantially spherical form and each covered with abrasive, it will be seen that a misfire is almost impossible, for after the ball breaks loose, it

lar ledge'27 at the'junctionof the neck 28.

with-the parti-spherical portion, and .the shoulder thus formed provides a support for the button 29 which carries the striker 30 as an integral part thereof. This button 29 and its striker part are molded from suitable plastic material, such as a frangible .bi-

tuminous composition, and the striker may be loaded as by the weight 31. The button hasa convex top 32 whichsubstantia ly follows the configuration of the inner wall 33 of the cavity and is reduced as at 34 to fit within the ledge.v It has the frustroconical surface 35 presented to the interior of the cavity and is attached to the ball at 36 by the reduced integral neck 'which is sufliciently frangible to break under the con ditionsset forth in connection with the description of Figure 1. If desired the ball andbutton may be suitably molded of different materials.

Prior to inserting the button and striker,

the inner wall of the cavity up to the ledge is coated with abrasive as at 37 Similarly the surface of the ball and, if, desired, the frustro-conical surface 35 are covered with a coating of abrasive 38 so that, when the ball breaks loose on impact, ignition will take place by the contacting of two abrasive surfaces. o

For closing this as well as the. first form of the invention, resort may be had to one or more rollers 39 of the configuration shown, and either of these rollers or the torpedo casing are mounted to rotate about the axis 40. The rolling is started at the junction 14 or {1 of the spherical and cy lindrical portions, and the rollers are advanced in thedirection of the arrows as the rolling proceeds, following, of course, a line parallel to the final desired curvature of the surface. These rollers must be suitably heated to soften the plastic material-to cause it to flow, and as they are advanced toward each other, a portion 42 of the material is caused to flow ahead of them and form a closure which seals itself to a homogeneous mass along the line 40, insuring absolute gas-tightness. In order that this portion 42 may be brought down to the configuration of the body of the torpedo and at the same time thicken and reinforce it over the frangible button, a suitable roller is used to form it down as shown at 43 in Figure 5, where the lines-4:4 represent the junction of this -mashed-out portion and the original surface formed by the rollers 39.

' In Figure 6 is shown a different form of configuration for the cylindrical wall which may be applied to either of the types of torpedoes heretofore described. In this arrangement one half 47 of the cylindrical wall is lower than the other half 48 and in the final closing operation is preferably first turned in by the use of heated'rollers or the like, andthereafter the other portion 48 is folded down and over to insure a large area of contact between the two parts and to effect a more perfect sealing against the infiltration of moisture or the leakage of the expanding gases resulting from the explosion.

In Figure 7 the'invention is shown as applied to a salute-or firecracker. In this arrangement the initial construction of the cup is identical with that shown in Figure 3. The button 50, however, instead of being provided with a striker, is centrally aerforated and has passing therethrough the fuse 51. The button may be either molded about the fuse or merely drilled and the fuse inserted. The button is, of course, placed inposition after the explosive material 52 is introduced, and after the button is positioned, the upper portion 53 of the casing is formed down about thefuse in the manner illustrated in Figure 4, an effort being made, however, to prevent the added portion of material '.forming about the fuse if possible, although there is no objection to this material being formed as a tubeabout the fuse. I

The invention may be considered to reside mainly in the formation of the casing from a sin le piece of resilient tenacious composition which can be first molded to cup form and later closed by Working or manipulating to form a single piece gastight casing which resists breaking to the extent of re- 'maining intact under ordinary shocks but which will break by the expansion, of the gases resulting from the explosion and, in so breaking, form sufiiciently-small pieces as to offer but little danger from flying particles. Furthermore, the material is such that the heat of the explosion causes the edges to become softened and rounded so that even if aipersonisstruck by them, noury is done because of the comparatively smooth edges and the softness of the material at the time.

A. further essential feature of the invention is the arrangement of thelarge striker -member which. is frangibly secured to the tenacious wall of the casing and which has su'fiicient weight to be broken loose on impact without damaging the. wall of the casing. It must not be overlooked that, when applying a weight in the form of a single part to the striker, this weight is preferably 2. In a toy torped0,fa one piece, gastight casing completely enveloplng an explosive compound, and forming the sole effective'enclosure therefor said casing being formed of a tenacious material which remains gas-tight after the HHPELCtIOI' producing the explosion.

3. In a toy torpedo, in combination, an

explosive, a detonating device and a single covering therefor comprising a totally enveloping gas-tight casing of one piece of heat softened moldable material having sufficient tenacity to resist cracking on the 1mpact necessary to detonate the explosive.

'4. In a toy torpedo, in combination, a casing of tenacious, water-proof material, a substantially spherical cavity therein, explosive in said cavity a substantially spherical striker member in said cavity to detonate the explosive by impact when the torpedo is projected against a hard surface.

5. In a casing for an explosive toy, in combination, a single ply, unsupported, one piece envelope of gas-tight construction, said envelope being formed from tenacious material which remains intact until disrupted by the explosion. V

' 6. In a toy torpedo, in combination, a casing comprising a single ply, one piece envelope of gas-tight construction formed from tenacious material which remains lntact until disrupted bythe explosion, explosive in the cavity of said envelope, a striker frangibly carried directly by said envelope and means to explode the explosive when said striker isbroken loose by impacting the torpedo.

7. In a'toy torpedo, in combination, a completely enveloping casing of tenacious material having a cavity therein, explosive striker being formed offrangible material.

. 8. A one-piece container for explosive for a toy torpedo having walls defining a compartment for explosive, the inner surfaces of said walls being directly coated with abrasive, a substantially spherical striker covered with abrasive and means weakly securing said striker to an inner surface of said walls. l

9. The method of making a torpedocomprising, molding an open cup of tenacious material, applying abrasive to the inner wall thereof, inserting explosive, securing a striker weakly to said-cup and within the same and forming the walls of the cup to alone close the same in'a gas-tight manner.

10. The method of making a torpedo comprising molding .-a cup, with an open mouth, forming an abrasive surface on the cavity wall thereof, introducing an explosive and a striker in the cavity. and forming the walls of the mouth to provide a closure for the cup.

11. In a toy torpedo, in combination, a

gas-tight casing having a substantially spherical cavity therein, explosive in said cavity, a substantially spherical striker in said cavity and attached to the wall thereof and a weight in said striker and eccentric thereto.

12. A striker'for a, toy torpedo formed of molded plastic material substantially spherical in form, and a weight eccentrically embedded in said molded sphere.

13. In a toy 7 torpedo, in. combination,;a

single piece, closed,.gas-tight casing having a substantially spherical cavity therein, a substantially spherical separate striker element tangent to the cavity wall, means frangibly securing said element to said wall, abrasive covering the wall and striker, and explosive filling a portion of theresidual cavity. t 7

14. The methodof forming a toy torpedo comprising forming a cup with substantially spherical inner and outer bottom walls and substantially straight sides, form ing a striker ball,.inserting the ball in the cup cavity, securing the ball'to the cavity wall, applying abrasive to the cavity wall and ball, depositing explosive in the cavity and molding the walls of the cup to close and complete the spherical configuration thereof. 7 V

15. The method offorming a toy torpedo comprising molding a cup of tenacious hitummous composition, inserting explosive and detonating means in said cup and formmg over the walls of the cup to completely in a gas-tight casing.

16, A toy torpedo closing casing of one piecejof tenacious'bitumlnousrnaterlal and a striker within said casing and secured to a wall thereof by a 7 brittle bituminous material.

17. A toy torpedo having a gas-tight cas ing of tenacious, bituminousplastio forming an inner cavity for explosive, a striker member 1n said cavity 'a-nd'frangible bituminous sald strlker to a CELVltY material securing 'walL- r 7 1 8. The method of making a toy torpedo comprising :m'olding a plastic composition to form a cup, inserting'a 'plastic'striker in said cup, substantially surrounding the striker with a'molten plastic material, in

suflicient quantity to drain onto" the inner Wall of the cup to join thestriker and cup,

applying hot abrasive tothe innerwalls of the cup and to the plastic material, inserting explosive and closing the cup.

19. A casing for use 1n manufacturing a toy torpedo, said casing being molded of a tenacious, bitumlnous material and having a hollow seml-spherical portlon and a substantially cylindrical hollow portion extending from the open end thereof and adapted to'be molded over to complete the spherical configuration of the casing; the quantity of material insa-id cylindrical portion being such as to produce'a thicker Wall in the portion' formed therefrom than in the-initially semi-spherical portion.

20. The method of making a toy torpedo comprising molding from tenacious bituminous vmaterial afcup having an. open mouth inserting explosive and detonating means into thecup molding the wall surrounding the mouth' to close the mouth and uniting the edges of the mouth toiorm a homogeneous casing for the torpedo.

21. The method of making a disruptive device comprising forming an open mouthed container of material at least partially softened by heat, inserting a material in said container which is rendered disruptive thereof when changed in state, inserting into the-container means for initiating such change of state and closing the month by forming it together to unite the edgesthereof to form a substantially homogeneous uniting the edges to provide a homogeneous,

gas tight casing.

In'testimony whereof I hereunto 'afiix my signature.

' 1 KOBY Kenn.

enclose the explosive and detonating means having a totally 'en- 

